Los Angeles Indiana 13

 

So, there I was, watching one of those PBS fundraisers when the host referred to The Beatles as the penultimate rock band.  Of course, as we all know, penultimate actually means the next to the last, and this is the penultimate post for the Los Angeles Indiana collection.  That is unless I find another loose album page from the same seller, which I'm beginning to accept isn't going to happen.  Anyway, we've got another diversion to Lamar, Colorado, or at least the lab stamp on the back of the third picture in the column says, "Kodak Finishing, J.H. WARD Lamar, Colo."  I promise the next thing I post will be the final three photos from this collection. No more interruptions and to see everything in order, click on The Los Angeles Indiana Collection in labels. 

Once again, Pike's Peak or Bust

 

A companion piece to yesterday's post.  It's not the same photo, but clearly from the same angle.  This time a postcard that was never mailed.  The caption, "520-STREAMLINE COG TRAIN AT THE FAMOUS OLD SUMMIT HOUSE-SUMMIT OF PIKE'S PEAK, ALT. 14,110 FT. ABOVE THE SEA."

" The cog road, famous the world over and unique among railroads, has carried passengers to the Summit of Pike's Peak for over 40 years.  Beginning in 1938 streamline cars began replacing the unique old steam train.  Literally millions of people are able to say that they have stood on the top of this famous peak and beheld the widespread views over hundreds of miles of plains and jumbled mountains." 

I wonder if the view is still the same.  Denver's growth came with increases in pollution.  Is smog what's visible? 

Pike's Peak or Bust

   

Written on the print, "SUMMIT, PIKES PEAK STREAMLINE COG TRAIN" Yes, it's still running and if I ever get back to Colorado, I'll take the ride to the summit.  That little "7" in the lower right corner makes me think that this photo was part of a commercially produced set made for the tourist trade.  

Milner Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park

Written on the back, "Milner Pass Elevation 11960 ft. Aug. 9. 1922 Rocky Mountain Ntl Park, Colorado Estes Park."  I looked it up, there's a road through Milner Pass that crosses the continental divide at 10759 feet.  Take a glance at the road in the background, and it clearly goes through a mountain pass.  It looks like the young lady in this photograph has hiked along the continental divide from the road.  I know it's possible because I've done the same thing. 

Am I the only one who wonders about the photographer?  Husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, father, mother, child?

The Gang

The Gang may have been having a good time camping in the Rockies, but it wasn't all fun and games.  Take a close look at the second photo, and see that the third man in line is holding a theodolite.  These aren't three friends having a back to nature trip, they're surveyors.  But what were they surveying?  The boundary of a park?  How about the boundary of someone's land?  A new road into the Rockies?  A logging operation or a gold mine?  Hopefully these weren't the last people to enjoy this spot before it got fenced off, dug up, or cut down.